Petrology

Prepared by: Arishma Gadtaula

Engineering Geologist, [Link].
Definitions
Petrology: Petrology is the branch of geology that
deals with the origin, composition, distribution and
structure of rocks.
Petrography: It is the branch of geology that deals with
the description and classification of rock. It mainly
deals with the microscopic examination of the rocks.
Petrogenesis: It is the branch of geology dealing with
formation of rocks.
Rock and Rock cycle: Introduction
Rocks are naturally occurring solid aggregate formed
by one or more minerals.
Rock cycle is the phenomenon by which one group of
rock gives rise to another group in nature over a
geological time period.
Rock cycle explains how earth processes change a
rock from one type to another.
Plate tectonics is one of the driving force for rock
cycle.
Igneous Rocks- Definition
The term igneous comes from Latin word “ignis”
meaning fire.
Igneous rock is one of the three main rock types that
are made from hot molten material inside the earth
called magma or lava when they formed after reaching
to the ground.
Igneous rocks are formed by solidification of cooled
magma (molten rock).
Classification of Igneous Rocks
A) On the basis of mode of occurrence
S.N. Classification Description
name
1. Intrusive rocks/ Rocks formed by slow cooling of magma inside the
Plutonic Rocks earth.
They are usually coarse grained due to slow cooling
of magma. They maybe:
a) Plutonic rocks: Formed at larger depths below
the earth surface ( 7-10 km) Example: Granite,
gabbro etc.
b) Hypabyssal rocks: Formed by cooling of magma
at shallow depth below the earth’s surface ( 2-3
km). Example: Porphyries.

2. Extrusive rocks/ Rocks formed by cooling of lava at the surface of

Volcanic rocks earth.
They are fine grained due to quick cooling of lava at
the earth surface.
Example: Basalt, Rhyolite
b) Chemical composition ( based on silica
content)
Silica content Rock Example

> 66% Acidic Granite

52-66% Intermediate Diorite

45-52% Basic Gabbro

<45% Ultrabasic Peridotite

c) Based on mineral composition
Felsic Rock Containing light colored minerals
(Silica, Feldspar) Example: Granite,
Rhyolite
Mafic Rock Containing dark colored minerals
( Magnesium, Iron,) Example: Basalt,
Gabbro.

Intermediate rock Containing both mafic and felsic

minerals.
Example: Diorite
Ultramafic rock Containing mostly mafic minerals and
low silica content. Example:
Carbonatites.
Igneous Rocks

Granite
Gabbro
Basalt
Rhyolite
Syenit
e
Structure of Igneous Rocks
Flow structures: Formed in volcanic rocks when
crystallized particles within the lava are arranged
parallel to the direction of flow of lava. Such structures
are seen in Rhyolites.

Flow structures
 Reaction Rims: During formation of igneous rocks, reaction
often takes place between early formed minerals and the
magma.
 If the reaction is complete, the early formed minerals disappear
together and if the reaction is incomplete, reaction products
occurs near the boundary of mineral grains forming ring.

Reaction rims
Xenoliths: A piece of rock within an igneous mass which
is not derived from the original magma but has been
introduced from elsewhere, especially the surrounding
country rock. ( Undigested Parts)

Xenolith
Vesicular structures: The escape of gases of lava
during its cooling leads to formation of empty cavities
of various shapes called vesicles.
Usually formed in volcanic rocks.

Vesicular structure and amygdaloidal structure

 Amygdaloidal structures: When the
vesicles are filled with secondary
minerals then the minerals are called
amygdales and the structure as a
whole is called amygdaloidal
structure.
 Pegmatite: Pegmatites are
extreme igneous structures  formed
during the final stage of a magma’s
crystallization. They are extreme
because they contain exceptionally
large crystals and they sometimes
contain minerals that are rarely found
in other types of rocks. Pegmatit
 To be called a "pegmatite," a rock
e
should be composed almost entirely
of crystals that are at least one
centimeter in diameter. 
Texture of Igneous Rocks
Texture is defined as the size, shape and arrangement of the grains
of crystals in a rock.
Igneous rock can have different textures depending on different bases:
a. On the basis of degree of crystallization:
All of the minerals present in the rock may be distinctly
crystallized and may be easily recognized by unaided eye or they
may be very poorly crystallized or even glassy (i.e. non
crystallized)
 Polycrystalline (Phaneric/Phanerocrystalline): When all the
minerals are distinctly crystallized.
 Holohyaline (Aphanitic): when the component minerals are very
fine in size and glassy or non-crystalline in character.
 Merocrystalline: intermediate type of texture i.e. some minerals
are crystallized and others are of glassy characters.
b) On the basis of granularity: Granularity defines the grain
size of rocks taking into account the average dimensions of
different component minerals. The rock is described as:
 Coarse grained: If the average size of the minerals of the
rock is >5 mm.
 Medium grained: If the average size of the mineral is in
between 1-5 mm.
 Fine grained: If the average grain size of the mineral is
<1mm.
c) On the basis of fabric: Fabric describes the relative grain size of different
minerals within the same rock as well as the degree of perfection in the
form of the crystals of the individual minerals.
 Equigranular: If all the minerals are of approximately equal dimensions
e.g. Granite.
 Inequigranular: When some of the minerals in rock are exceptionally
larger or smaller than the others.
 Inequigranular textures can be further divided into the following types
i. Porphyritic texture: If few conspicuously large sized crystals
(phanerocrysts) are found in a fine-grained groundmass (Fig. 1a) e.g.
Basalt, Diorite, Rhyolite.
ii. Poikilitic texture: if fine-grained crystals are embedded within the body
of large sized crystals (Fig.1 b) e.g. Syenite, Peridotite etc.
iii. Ophitic texture: In the similar type of texture as in poikilitic texture, if
the host mineral is Augite and the inclusion is of Plagioclase mineral (Fig.
1c) e.g. Dolerite.
Figure 1 : Inequigranular texture: a) Porphyritic b)
Poikilitic c) Ophitic
d) Similarly, on the basis of degree of perfection of the
individual minerals in the form of crystals as observed
under microscope, the texture may be:
 Panidiomorphic: if majority of the constituent
minerals occur in perfect crystal shape (euhedral
crystals) e.g. Syenite.
 Allotriomorphic: when most of the crystals are
irregular in shape (anhedral crystals) e.g. Gabbro.
 Hypidiomorphic: if the rock consist of mixture of
anhedral, subhedral and euhedral crystals. eg.
Granite
Forms of Igneous Rocks
The size, shape and mode of formation of igneous rock
is called form.
It is predominantly governed by temperature,
composition, viscosity and mode of formation of magma
as well as nature of rocks into which they are injected.
Similarly, chemical and physical properties, overburden
load and structures of pre-existing rock are governing
factors for different forms of igneous rocks.
The forms of igneous rocks can be broadly classified
into two types namely concordant bodies and discordant
bodies.
Concordant bodies

The intrusions in which magma is influenced by the structural

features of the rocks into which it has been injected and
solidified along the planes of weakness like bedding planes,
foliation planes etc. are called concordant bodies.
Depending on the structure of the igneous intrusions and its
effect to the host rocks, concordant bodies can be further
divided into different types which are described below.
i) Sills ( Figure 2 a) : Sills are concordant, tabular bodies that are
emplaced essentially parallel to the foliation or bedding of the
country rock. High degree of mobility is required to produce
this sheet like form and basaltic magmas are more fluid than
granitic ones, therefore most sills are basaltic in composition.
ii. Laccoliths ( Figure 2 b) :They are concordant,
commonly mushroom shaped intrusions that range
in diameter from about 1 to 8 km with maximum
thickness in the order of 1000 m.
They are created when magma rising upward
through essentially horizontal layers in the earth’s
crust encounter more resistant layer, magma spreads
laterally under it forming a dome in overlying
layers.
iii. Lopoliths (Figure 2c) : It consists of a large, lenticular, centrally
sunken, generally concordant, basin or funnel shaped intrusive mass.
The diameter ranges from tens to hundreds of kilometers and thickness up
to thousands of meters.
They are usually mafic to ultramafic and few have upper siliceous layers.
iv. Phacoliths ( Figure 2 d) :Phacoliths are intrusive concordant bodies
associated with folded rocks.
 Within an anticline, they are convex upward, and in trough of a syncline
they are convex downward.
 It is assumed that it is passive i.e. magma fills and enlarges the open or
potentially open areas that develop crests and trough during folding.
Figure 2: Concordant bodies: a) Sill b) Laccolith c) Lopolith d)
Phacolith
DISCORDANT BODIES

The intrusions in which magma is not influenced by the structural

features of the host rocks and solidified by cross-cutting the rocks
into which it has been injected are called discordant bodies (Fig. 3).
Depending on the structure and size of such igneous intrusions and
its effect to the host rocks, discordant bodies can be further divided
into different types which are described below.
i. Dikes ( Figure 3 a): Dikes are tabular discordant plutons that cut
across the foliation or bedding of the country rock.
 They are typically emplaced into preexisting joint system and may
occur singly or in swarms.
 Occasionally, vertical- or outward dipping ring dykes or inward
dipping cone sheets may be found distributed in circular or oval
pattern.
ii. Batholiths ( Figure 3 b) :They are large intrusive plutons with
steeply dipping walls.
They are often composed of silicic rocks, range in size from about
hundred to several thousand square kilometers, they form the core
of major mountain systems in the world.
Although broadly concordant to the regional structure, are highly
discordant when mapped in detail, may contain minor intrusions.
iii. Stocks or Bosses: Stocks are smaller bodies that are likely fed
from deeper level batholiths.
 Their maximum surface area is of 100 km2.
 Stocks might be feeders for volcanic eruptions, but large amounts of
erosion are required to expose a stock or batholiths, and therefore
the associated volcanic rocks are rarely exposed.
Figure 3:Discordant bodies a) Dike b) Batholith